Dance in the Rain
by oxsilvermoonxo
Summary: There comes a time, when every lonely little boy must learn to dance..." 10 short drabbles/oneshots for i.heart.hatake.kakashi's 10 for nejiten prompt challenge. R&R! :D
1. Dance in the Rain

written for i heart hatake kakashi 's challenge ^^

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_...There comes a time, when every lonely little boy must learn to dance.._

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Dreams can be strange and curious things.

Sometimes, they are nonsensical, flitting in and out of reality, combining and blending the truth and the imaginary in the most bizarre ways. Perhaps they reflect our inner desires, make inquiries of things we ourselves have yet to make, answer today the questions we don't think to ask until tomorrow. For some, they are clear, vivid images that are forever ingrained into our minds, and for others, they are hazy and indistinct, drifting along until that moment you wake up, and come to forget that the dream had ever even passed.

But every now and then, when you lay down in bed at night, letting the warm and heavy fingers of sleep overtake your body, we come to dream, or remember, if you will, a memory of some sort. It could be anything, from an ordinary, everyday moment, to a day that your life was changed forever.

That night, when one white-eyed boy fell asleep, his mind wandered off in the direction of his past, and led him to a time that he had long forgotten – something that had happened many years ago.

_~.*.~_

_After his father had died, there was not really much joy or delight in the rest of his upbringing, and though Neji had long gotten over his anger and hatred at the Main Branch, the fact was that there were just not a lot of memories that he would rather recall. _

_There was one day, however, that floated in the back of his mind, a brief ray of light that glowed against the rest of the dark and shadowy._

_He found himself, for some reason, at the edge of a playground near the Hyuga compound, sitting on the ground playing with small sticks and rocks by himself as other children ran around laughing and shouting. _

_The sky suddenly darkened, and all the children disappeared to leave Neji completely alone as gentle sprinkles of rain fell from the sky. He closed his eyes, and listened to the steady 'patta-patta-patta', for once not caring if he got wet or dirty. _

_Another sound caught his attention, and he looked up to see someone giggling and laughing, humming to themselves as they twirled around in the falling water. Spotting him sitting by himself, the person came over. _

_-Whatsa matter?-_

_He looked up at a girl, about his own age whose face he couldn't quite make out. But remembered her bright, friendly grin, and brown hair pulled in two small pigtails on the top of her head._

_-Wanna come dance with me?-_

_Startled and caught completely off guard, Neji heard himself faintly reply that he didn't know how._

_He was met with an outstretched hand and again with that beautiful, carefree laugh. She pulled him off the ground, and held both hands, and they span around._

_-Yes you do, it's easy! I'll teach you!-_

_A trace of a smile lifted the corner of the sleeping boy's lips, as he and the girl danced, jumping in puddles, spinning and spinning until they got dizzy, and collapsed in a pile in the mud, soaked through the skin, and laughing and laughing. It was the first time someone had voluntarily reached out a hand to Neji in a long time. It was the first time that small boy had felt so carefree.  
_

_It was odd; here, dancing in the rain with a strange girl he didn't even know the name of, was the first time in a long time that he felt anything close to resembling pure, untainted happiness._

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**Yeah, i guess the nejiten was EXTREMELY subtle...and yes, it could be better….but oh well ;) lol, I think I must have taken the "lonely little boy" a bit too literally, but that's the first thing I though of when I read the prompt. **

**Review please! **


	2. Don't Contradict Yourself

**So. um, a personal reason for writing these drabbles (other than fullfilling i. heart. hatake. kakashi 's fabulous prompts) is to experiment with different ways of telling a story. So keeping that in mind, I'm sorry if what's going on in this one doesn't make sense. LEAVE A REVIEW! ^^**

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_Woman is a miracle of divine contradictions_

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Women (or kunoichi, in Neji's rather limited experience) are composed of one big contradiction after another.

After all, what other creature can be all anger, temper and the source of flying objects one moment, and be the warm, soft person pressed against you the next? Who else would scream their hatred and disgust at your very being while assaulting you with a combination of metal and tightly packed, pebble-studded snowballs, then slip their arms around you, mumbling 'sorry' a few hours later? How is it that they have so many faces that turn from one to the next without so much as a reason or warning?

Take Sakura for example. On first sight, she looks innocent enough, with her pink hair and cheerful smile. The villagers practically worshiped her, the smart, beautiful, a protector of the village and skilled medical nin. Beauty and grace one minute, next thing you know a huge fist comes knocking you into next week with her monstrous strength, and that evil grimace all of a sudden isn't so pretty and innocent anymore (not that Neji had any personal experience. But he'd been around Naruto enough to view his share of such incidents). And despite the constant contact between her fist and his face, she still got that blurry look with Naruto sometimes, just as likely to ruffle his hair affectionately as slam his head into the ground.

Then there was the loud-mouthed Yamanaka Ino. A never ending stream of chatter, gossiping about trivial matters with the other women in the village, seeming to care only about superficial things. Yet Neji had seen her blood and sweat, training hard, fighting to complete difficult missions, doing her best to learn increasingly complex medical jutsus, to protect the people of her village.

Even look at Neji's own cousin, Hinata. Still stuttering and blushing every now and then, especially before the ever beloved Naruto, but her skills as a ninja are developing well, and her abilities now something for her enemies to fear in battle. And she'd turned out to be a surprising sneak and schemer in matchmaking (Neji mentally glared affectionately at the memory of her pushing him roughly out the door to go find... yeah…).

Tenten. His Tenten (he smirked at his own sappiness). A whirling flash of steel, muscle, and blades. Solid yet fluid. Dependable, still unpredictable, ferocious, but precise; and always, always smiling (or sometimes scowling fiercely) when she sees him.

And here she was, on the other side of the doorway, bleary-eyed, wearing an old, faded t-shirt and panda pajama pants, her hair a tangled, knotted mess, cheeks flushed and sweating lightly from fever, an empty unwashed mug in her hand.

She stared at him blankly, at the basket of fruit on his arm, the clean, tidy, perfect image of her teammate, not a single hair astray standing there in the doorway, staring at her innocently.

She closed the door.

"Tenten," a foot in the door frame, a breath of exasperation (almost equivalent to a laugh by Hyuga standards), a tiny quirk of the lips, yet a touch of concern showed through in his white eyes.

"I'b okay, id's all okay, id's just a cold," She glared. "As you can see, I'b perfectly fine."

"Ah. Yes, I can see that. I can hear, too, that you're so perfect in fact that you just invited me in for tea." He marched briskly in, perfectly at home in her small apartment, keeping his back to her so she wouldn't see him smirking.

Something strange was up with the stupid Hyuga. Either a screw was knocked loose by some stray snowball, or those long repressed doors of insanity had been flung open last night because the bastard was acting way too goddamn chipper (not to mention suspiciously healthy) for a stony asshole with an icicle perpetually up his ass who couldn't have gotten more than three effing hours of sleep. Or so observed Tenten, aloud, in a stream of colorful mutters while she stumbled around the kitchen making tea. Neji sat by serenely, thanking her extra politely and making sure their fingers brushed as he accepted the (grudgingly) offered tea.

They sat in silence, interrupted only by the gentle clinking of cups and her occasional grumble about "pompous assholes who think they own the world", and avoiding making eye contact in general. But she must've been watching like a hawk, for the moment he drained the last sip, he barely had time to put the cup back down before he was on his feet being pushed to the door by an irate Tenten.

"Kay, you've had your _tea_, mister high-and-mighty-'I'b-always-right', now go 'way."

"Hmm. You know, there's this pressure point right _here-"_ she yelped as he turned and jabbed his fingers against a spot along the base of her neck, "-that's really good if you caught a cold, clears the sinuses right up-"

"I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU, YOU BASTARD THAT HURT LIKE A MOTHER F-"

He grabbed her arm and without even a word, bent down to kiss her fiercely, paying no heed to the sounds of her ceramic mug breaking as it crashed to the ground. Neji ran his fingers through her matted hair with one hand, the other firmly around her waist. He felt Tenten stiffen, resisting his gentle lips, then groaned in defeat, slowly giving in as she slid her arms around his neck, nestling her cheek against his collarbone when they broke apart. They stood like that, hugging, for a moment.

"I'm sick you know." Her voice was slightly muffled from his shirt.

"I know."

"And it's all your fault."

"I know."

"So the reality is, if I manage to pass it on to you, you can really only blame yourself."

"At least you can breathe now."

"Shut up."

"Besides, I won't get sick."

"Of course. The unconquerable might of the Hyuga immune system."

"Yep."

"I can't believe you made me stay outside in the _snow_ all night."

"You ran off first."

"Rub it in some more, please."

"Although I suppose it turned out for the better, right? Aside from you getting insanely jealous and running off into the night hell-bent on catching pneumonia-" He started laughing at the growling sounds coming from the slender figure wrapped up in his arms.

"I really think the cold must've caused some irreversible brain damage out there…"

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Jerk." she added under her breath.

"Can I help it that I stumbled upon a life changing epiphany and decided I didn't want to waste another second of my life away from you?"

She lifted her head and looked up at him, drawn by the seriousness hidden in his light tone. Pale, lavender eyes stared solemnly back. She felt her throat tighten at the intense waves of emotion in his gaze, unspoken promises resonating in the air between them.

Leaning up on tiptoe, she kissed the tip of his nose, successfully breaking the tension and bringing an upward curve to his lips, an identical smirk spreading across her own.

With a sigh, she returned her head to rest against the crook of his neck.

Neji started stroking the small of her back gently. "At least...I kept you warm. Once the snowballs stopped. Those hurt, by the way."

Her hand opened to gather a fistful of silky hair, and tugged gently in reproach. "I still got sick."

"I brought you fruit to build up your vitamins."

She told him rather rudely what he could go do with his fruit.

He whispered something.

"Fine. Leave the chocolate."

"All or nothing."

"Tch. Figures."

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

"No, I mean because I just remembered that Hinata might have packed the chocolate in the other basket."

"What?" She jerked her face away from his neck to stare up at him accusingly. Chuckling to himself, he bent over and swooped her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style (flailing legs, indignant cries and all) into her bedroom.

"Maybe, if you're a very, _very_ good girl someone will bring you a treat later." said Neji, kissing the side of her face as she tried to push him away. "In the meantime, you go to bed, and let your immune system do its job."

He tucked her in the covers, ignoring her insults and protests, even snorting slightly when she called him a heartless baby-eater.

He turned to leave.

"Hey, um, Neji?"

"Yes?"

"From yesterday..." her cheeks turned slightly pink. "Um…I loveyoutoo." She paused, then thumped back against the pillows, facing away from him. "Now LEAVE."

Smiling Neji shut the door behind him.

Humming a tune to himself, he wondered if she would be terribly angry if she found him still there (sans chocolate) when she woke up in four hours. Probably. He settled himself on the couch, prepared to spend the rest of the morning in the cozy, sunny apartment.

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